The Ruins of Persephone
by the one and only anonymous
Summary: Summary is inside but basically, the story is about Annabeth who is an inspired architect, Percy, and his sister Persephone (not the goddess). This is the story of how death and architecture brought two people true love. Please give this story a chance.
1. Chapter 1

(Summary:)

Ever since Percy looked into the eyes of little Persephone, he knew they would be inseparable. Everyone could tell too. It's not exactly everyday where you would see a college student hanging out with a little girl in the woods because he wanted to. Percy loves Persephone and he could never imagine a life without his little sis. That is until she dies. His life comes crashing down, and Percy is blaming himself. He could never go back to the woods again.

Annabeth is in love. Well, with architecture anyways. Ancient Greek is her specialty. Her dream is practically to discover Original greek architecture buildings. No one has yet, but Annabeth knows she will. She just has to find the right place. Then she finds something in the little woods by her new house. She wants to dig closer, but why won't the guy next door let her? And why does she find his mysteriousness attractive?

**Prologue **

"Is she here yet?" Percy asked his dad for the hundredth time. His dad laughed. "Nope not yet," he says (for the hundredth time), "Just hold on and wait for a few more minutes. Babies don't just pop out son. We have to wait for the contractions to start first."

Percy groaned. "Ugh...why does it take so long? Why do we even have to wait outside? Why won't they let us in already?"

His father's eyebrows rose up as he started to scratch the back of his neck looking quite uncomfortable at his question. "Well...when it does start Percy...and if we were to be in the room, there would be some sights that….might be a bit disturbing to you and inappropriate and...I don't think...well, what I mean is…you see-"

"Dad I know what you mean!" Percy said before his father could go on. He rolled his eyes at his father's obliviousness. Of course Percy knew what his father was getting at. He was thirteen after all, and have been to the dreaded class (known as health class) that some kids have tried to avoid. Percy stuck his tongue out and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Ew. He wasn't even thinking about that when he asked the question. He was just excited to see his sister.

His soon-to-be sister. His soon-to-be baby sister.

Percy shook his head to make sure he was alive, and looked up at the posters lined up at the wall across from him. Even though nothing has happened yet, the nurses made them sit in the waiting room until the baby comes, and it was driving him nuts. The baby pregnancy magazines, the baby posters, and the white hospital walls kept reminding him that this was a real delivery and that everything would change once he sees her.

Her. Percy was surprised it was a her. He was hoping for a little brother, but when he heard it was a girl, he somehow felt even more excited. He could just see it now. He would play the protective brother and make sure her first kiss wouldn't happen until she was thirteen like him. Then, he would teach her how to play video games so she would be cool and wouldn't end up like those snobby popular girls (because he knows she would be pretty enough to be one if she wanted to). Next, he would teach her how to play guitar like him because he knows she would be talented. After that, he would help her get through school drama and homework so she would become smart and get in a good college. Then, when the time comes….he would cheer her on as she walks down the aisle. They would grow old together and as he dies, he would hold her trembling hand and tell her everything would be all right.

Percy smiled. He was such a sweetheart he made himself sick sometimes. His friends Jason, Nico, and Grover sure teased him about it though.

Suddenly, the doors burst open and a nurse walked up to them with an accomplished smile. "She's here," she announced. "Wait...seriously?" Percy asked. The nurse nodded. He couldn't believe it. He looked at the clock and saw that time flew by quickly. "Can we see her?"

The nurse nodded again. "She's in room 204, but please be quiet since-"

Percy and his dad didn't even wait to hear the rest of the sentence. Percy was excited. After nine months of dealing with mom's cravings and mood swings, the end result was finally here. He couldn't wait to see his new sister. He ran so fast he ran _too_ fast and his sneakers screech against the floor as he tried to stop in front of the door.

He looked through the door window and saw a sleeping figure with a little crib-box-thingy by the bed. Percy let out a deep breath and turned towards his dad with a finger to his lips to tell him to be quiet. Then, ever so slowly, he turned the silver brass knob.

The screech from the wooden door woke up the sleeping figure. The woman looked around for a bit, trying to remember why she was here. Then she turned towards me. Immediately, her sparkly blue eyes lit up making her even more beautiful than she already was. Even after giving birth, Percy's mom still looked happy and not at all tired. She is a strong woman. No wonder his dad got attracted to her.

Percy walked up to her open arms and hugged her very gently. He didn't know if women are fragile after birth. Next, his dad hugged her, whispering words into her ear making her laugh. Percy rolled his eyes. Parent love is great and all, but no one wants to see their parents all lovey-dovey.

After a few more minutes of seeing that, Percy couldn't take it anymore. "Can I see her now Mom? I've been waiting for forever!" Mom laughed at her ridiculous son and gave them the gesture to go ahead.

"Be quiet though," Mom warned. "She's still sleeping."

Percy nodded and walked towards the little hospital crib where his new baby sister slept. he looked inside, and saw her little body, all curled up into a ball. His first thought was that she was tiny. Her fingers were wearing little tiny mits and her little tiny toes curled in and out, like she knew someone was watching her. Her head was wearing a very thin layer of black hair and her button nose scrunched up like something was happening in her dream.

Then, her head turned towards Percy's face and opened her eyes. They were blue like her mother's. Percy was shocked. They stared at each other for a while until her hands rose up and covered her face with her mits. _She's shy_, Percy thought. _That won't do if she ever goes to school. She needs to be more confident_. So gently, he used his thumb and pointer fingers (since he was afraid he was going to crush her hands, that's how small they were), and moved her hands away from her face. Her eyes looked back up at him.

And she smiled.

Percy smiled back.

They were going to be inseparable.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters (except for Persephone and others later on) all credit of the percy jackson characters go to Rick Riordan!

**Chapter 1**

"Persephone!" I yelled at the figure running up the hill.

"Come on slow poke!"

Where in the world is she going? It's almost midnight and she's going to miss the big show! I pumped my legs up the hill and finally caught up to Persephone who was impatiently tapping her foot.

"Took you long enough! We're going to be late for the fireworks! You know the hideout is the best spot to watch it!" she said excitedly. She turned away from me and shot down the hill towards the woods. Her legs ran so fast she almost disappeared from sight before I even realized where we were going.

"Hey wait up!" I yelled as I ran down the hill after her. I scraped past the bushes at the edge of the woods and ran down the dirt path. It was summer right now and the woods couldn't have been better. The trees shaded blue from the moonlight and the firefly lights and the crickets' music made the woods seem magical at night. I remember when I used to play here with my friends at night and catch fireflies or swim in the river. The woods wa like a second home to Persephone and me. There were a lot of memories made here.

"Are you done daydreaming?" Persephone's voice broke through the crickets' sound, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked at her. She was waiting by the makeshift bridge we had made on the last day before I left for college. The brand new wood in my memories were now old and creaky. It reminded me how long it's been since I left home.

"Yeah."

"Well what are you waiting for then? Let's go!" She started walking over the creaky bridge. I followed after her. As if by memory,we stopped at the middle of the bridge and leaned over the wooden rail and watched the river pass by.

Persephone smiled. "Hey, remember when I dared you to swim in the river during winter and you were dumb enough to do it?"

I smiled back. "Thanks for that by the way. I got a whole month off of school because of frostbite."

Persephone laughed. "I remember crying because I thought that they were going to cut off your toes and it would be all my fault and you would hate me for the rest of my life, and then it turned out it was just mild frostbite."

I chuckled. "You served me hot chocolate each day for two weeks!"

Persephone stared at our reflections in the water and her smile dropped. Then she bent down and grabbed two pebbles from a pile of rocks on the ground. Each had the sign of Poseidon drawn on it."Do you still remember our tradition?"

I gulped down the tears that were starting to come up. "How can I forget. We never missed a day."

Persephone looked back down at our reflections. "Just saying," she mumbled. "In case you forgot."

I stared down at the water. Remembering the day when it all started. "I never forgot. Even at college, I woke up every morning and walked to a river nearby. Every morning I threw a pebble with Dad's sign."

"You did?"

"Yeah."

The corners of Persephone's lips curved slightly up. "I remember when dad and you taught me to swim. I was so scared I almost drowned because I was frozen with fright. Luckily, Dad saved me."

I smiled at the memory. "I remember when he taught me to swim. After I got the hang of it, I fell in love with the water just like Dad did when he was little. From that day on, I swore to become a professional swimmer like him."

Persephone snorted. "And look at you now, Mr. I-got-a-swimming-scholarship-at-NYC." We laughed for a while and then it became quiet again. "Dad would have been proud of you," she said quietly. "I never even got to show him my music."

She started to tear up. "Hey," I said as I comforted her, "you know dad would have been proud of you no matter what. You were his little girl." Persephone sniffled and spoke out with such sincere sadness, it broke me to think she was like this while I was gone.

"You think he will ever come home?"

"I don't know."

She pulled away from the hug. "We still can at least hope right? Pretend he's with us?"

I smiled. "Yeah...we can at least try."

We both held our pebbles out. "FOR DAD!" Persephone yelled at the top of her lungs.

I grinned. "For Dad!" I yelled. We raised our arms back, threw the pebbles into the river, and watched it splash into the distance.

Persephone's watch started beeping. She looked at the time. "Oh shoot! We're going to miss the fireworks! Come on, and this time don't walk!" She ran off towards the hidden path.

"Hey wait up!" I yelled and ran after her. I ran off the bridge and down the dirt path where it seemed to get darker. Persephone was waiting at the entrance of our secret hideout. We had hidden the entrance with leaves so no one else would know about it.

"You ready?" Persephone asked with excitement. I nodded and we moved the branches and leaves aside until we could see a stone archway held up by marble columns. When you entered it, it was an open square where the only ceiling was the big night sky. There was a stone ledge held up by a dozen columns (where vines liked to grow) on each side. At one end, there were three huge stone structures that looked like chairs. It was magnificent. Even with all the branches, trees, and plants covering a lot of it, an architect would still have been amazed.

Persephone and I would always play here. We would go stargazing at night while sitting on top of the columns, play basketball using a swirled vine as a hoop, catch fireflies, play tag, or use it as a safehaven whenever we felt sad. It was always our favorite place. Just Persephone and me.

"Come on! Come on! Come on! We're going to miss it!" Persephone squealed excitedly. I laughed, even at 11, Persephone still squealed like a 7-year-old when it came to fireworks. We walked up to a ladder that we put by a column one summer. We realized we could sit on top of the ledge held up by the columns if we climbed up a ladder. So we got a ladder, and ever since, we watched the firework show sitting on top of our hideout.

I just scrambled up the ladder and finally got my legs dangling over the ledge in a sitting position when the fireworks came. Burst of colors contrasted with the night sky everywhere. Persephone was watching it all in an awed gaze. She looked at me and grinned with that 7-year-old squeal. I grinned back and watched the rest of the fireworks.

After the fireworks were done we stayed on top of the ledge relaxing in comfortable silence.

"So…" Persephone dragged on, breaking the silence, "did you finally get a girlfriend yet?"

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "No. I don't have time for stuff like that."

"What about that one girl you said you liked?"

I thought about Rachel for a second. "Nah, I figured out it wasn't a real crush." Persephone smiled at that. "Why are you so smug?"

"Oh you know…" she said mysteriously. "It's just that I already kind of knew you liked her more as a friend rather than a girlfriend."

I raised my eyebrow at that. My sister knows more about me than _me_.

"What about you?" I asked this time. "Any boys interested in my little sister?"

She squirmed under my gaze. I inwardly smile at her uncomfortableness. "I'm not so little anymore." She finally said. "And besides, there's no one that I'm interested in, and there's no one interested in me."

I raised an eyebrow at that. Judging by the way her midnight black hair sways in the wind, and how the moonlight leaves her hair tinged blue and her bright blue eyes sparkling, I think she's lying.

Even the fireflies were attracted to her.

* * *

"We're home!" I shouted as we walked through the door. Mom stopped talking to her friends at the kitchen table and walked over to give us hugs.

"Where in the world were you? The children already ate most of the blue cookies!" she said.

"What!" I said faking a gasp and acted surprised. "You already gave out the cookies without me? Is there any left?"

Mom bent down at a cupboard and pulled out a tray of cookies. "Lucky for you, I saved some at the last minute." I stared at the heavenly blue delights and hugged my mom. She was absolutely the best mother in the world. I started to grab the tray, but my mom smacked my hand away. I pouted. "Don't forget to share with your sister. Remember last time?"

My sister smirked. I blushed, remembering the time I gobbled down all the cookies and Persephone got so mad, she purposely took forever in the bathroom and I had to go so bad that I went outside to pee. My mom caught me right when I was finished.

Most. Embarrassing. Thanksgiving. Ever.

The doorbell rang, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Ooh!" Mom said excitedly, "The new neighbors are here!" She gave me the tray and walked to the door.

"New neighbors?" I asked. "Since when?"

Persephone walked beside me and grabbed five cookies before I could eat it all. "About a month ago," she said, her voice muffled from the cookie in her mouth. She swallowed. "Remember when I told you the Jankins and their fluffy white dog moved out?"

"Yeah…"

"Well their house got bought real quick, and the new neighbors came. I think their last names were Jase or Case or something like that. I don't remember; never actually got to meet them." She grabbed another cookie. "I did get to meet their daughter though," she said as she grabbed another cookie. "She was going off to Yale and looked really pretty." She smirked and grabbed one more cookie.

" I think you'll really like her," she said as she ran upstairs.

I finally looked away from the door and stared at her retreating back. Then looked at the cookie tray.

Empty.

"PERSEPHONE!"

The last thing I heard was the '_click'_ of the bathroom lock and a laugh.


End file.
